Our World is Ended is a phenomenal visual novel that while it might seem like drags on too long, does so perfectly. The story will not only touch the player’s heart but will probably help a good number of them understand themselves better. This game while not perfect does have an impactful story and seems to hope that people will realize that they are all great in their own weird ways.
Our World is Ended is all about a young boy named Reiji and his interactions with a strange game development team named Judgement 7. This group is filled with outcasts and weirdos, who normally can’t do anything right. But together these seven will save the world because they are the only ones who can.
Our World is Ended tells the tale of Reiji joining up with this weird group. The group has already made a number of games before his arrival, but something about Reiji seems to change the group. They might not initially treat him nicely but he slowly but surely grows on them.
The main cast includes a perverted leader named Owari, a gluttonous manchild named Iruka, a bubbly airhead named Yuno, angry gothic lolita named Natsumi, a tone-deaf singer named Asano, and a middle school genius named Tatianna. While not necessarily fit to be heroes they soon find themselves in a virtual reality world.
My favorite character ended up being Natsumi as her character arc is the most visceral. Though I did enjoy getting to know all of the characters. It is interesting to me to see such weird characters change so drastically. But it also warmed my heart watching these characters realize things about themselves. I felt like I grew to like myself just a little more after completing this game.
Their character traits certainly provide a base, but there is much more to these characters. Players might like characters earlier on in the game but dislike them as the game progresses. The characters reveal things about themselves that definitely could make them unlikable to others. They might seem like strange choices but in the end, they make these characters feel like they could be real.
This game does touch on some rather risque subjects and that befits the M rating. I was not expecting some of the topics to come up in this game but they do help to strengthen the weirdness of the characters. Plus, while the topics might unsettle some people at first it helped me anyway to accept them.
There isn’t much in terms of actual gameplay in this game. But the choices the player makes do direct how it will end. It’s important to note that there are six true endings, one for each character, a secret ending, and a normal ending. With eight endings this game could suck up a lot of time.
There are two types of way players interact with the game. They can either click on answers in a list which can affect a bunch of characters, or they use the other method. This other method involves a quick time event where answers fly across the screen. These “Selection of Soul” as they are called, directly affect one person. It’s important to pick the right thing as it will obviously affect how the ending plays out.
As players play the game they will want to pause it periodically to check the top three rankings. These rankings indicate which characters favor Reiji the most. While not a perfect science, the person at the top should lead to that ending. Though some endings do seem harder to get than others, and simple choices can derail the ending. It takes a conscious effort but it is doable to get all the endings.
This game is also willing to work with the player to achieve all of the endings they can. I saw that there were 90 save files which should be more than enough to complete all of the endings, saving at different points. Players can skip scenes they’ve already seen with a press of a button. The game also offers quick load/save. So this game wants players to see all the endings and that is proof it’s a solid game.
The animation in this game is also pretty high quality. I enjoy seeing the characters come to life before my eyes. They all have their own quirks and watching them is always fun. They even blink regularly too, which for me just makes it feel more real, especially since the player sees the story through Reiji’s eyes.
Our World is Ended has phenomenal music which is always something I look for in a game. There are twenty-seven tracks that play throughout the course of the game and some of them are really good. The opening for the game has to be my personal favorite as it is just a good song.
Players can see all of their winnings in the gallery. This shows off all of the artwork in the game, plus allows players to listen to the soundtrack. There is also a special gallery where players can see which endings they have achieved. It’s nice to have something like this because clearly a good amount of work was put into making this game.
My one big pet peeve has to be that there are a lot of errors in spelling in this game. Clearly, this was a large game to translate and bring over to the west. But that is no excuse, as sometimes the errors just continue to pop up. Though I’ll give it a light pass as it does liven the mood sometimes and this game does get pretty dark. It might not be a perfect script but it does have Japanese voice acting and that is always welcome.
All in all Our World is Ended is a solid visual novel. One that highlights the misadventures of a group of misfits, setting them up as the heroes. There are tons of quirky characters, odd settings, and interesting story for players to get lost in. If anyone has an inkling to watch weirdos save the world, this is definitely a game worth picking up. Reiji has a long journey ahead of him, who will read his novel and guide him to his ending?
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
You can check out the official website at : http://pqube.co.uk/our-world-is-ended/